Around the World Roundup: 'Pirates' Swishes to Nine Straight

by Conor Bresnan

Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

September 5, 2006

Another slow session at the international box office saw Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest on top for the ninth straight weekend, grossing $12.1 million from 2,845 screens in 47 territories. The supernatural swashbuckler's total booty rose to $581.5 million, ranking as the seventh highest foreign grosser on record, and, adding in its domestic haul, its worldwide tally will soon surpass $1 billion. What's more, it still has its final market, Italy, on Sept. 15.

Miami Vice had a solid opening in Japan over the weekend, trafficking $1.7 million from 291screens. The undercover cop drama has made good in France ($9.9 million total), Germany ($6.8 million) and the United Kingdom ($13.7 million). Overall, Vice had a $7.7 million weekend for a $64.5 million total, and it will enter Spain next weekend.

You, Me and Dupree scored a pair of first place rankings over the weekend. Most impressive was a No. 1 hold in the U.K. where the comedy nabbed $2.2 million for an $8.8 million total. It was also tops in Mexico with an $898,866 debut from 256 screens. A $4.3 million weekend overall puts Dupree's tally at $21 million.

Cars dominated Sweden with an impressive $1 million opening from 182 screens, and the Pixar picture maintained pole position in Norway with $695,063 for a $1.9 million total. All told, its foreign gross rose to $172.8 million after a $7.1 million weekend.

In Italy, Superman Returns began with $3.4 million from 631 prints, narrowly beating Cars' second weekend. With a $5.1 million weekend overall, the Man of Steel's total climbed to $181 million and the next stop is Greece on Sept. 7.

A decent start in Spain contributed to Monster House's $5.9 million weekend and $38.1 million total. The family horror opened in third place with $1.3 million from 350 screens there, but it wasn't as good in Brazil, where it grossed $598,243 from 178.

Fueled by a $2.1 million debut from 314 screens in the U.K., Little Man recorded $3.1 million over the weekend for an $11.9 million total. However, news was grim from Germany as the Wayans brothers' comedy made just $309,226 from 119 screens. So far, Little Man is in the range of the Wayans' White Chicks, which went on to gross $42.3 million in 2004.

United 93 had a plethora of small-market debuts, and results were solid for its moderate screen counts. In Brazil, it earned $113,845 from 30 screens, which was comparable to Syriana's start. It also opened in Argentina ($83,070 from 20 screens), Greece ($111,019 from 15), Hong Kong ($185,409 from 16) and Poland ($235,872 from 47). Overall, the 9/11 docudrama grossed $3 million for a $33 million total.

Barnyard: The Original Party Animals scored Nickelodeon's second highest opening of all time in Singapore, the picture's first foreign market. The animated comedy milked $121,965 from 17 screens there.

Meanwhile, Snakes on a Plane had another tough go of it overseas. The horror comedy yielded a moderate $811,057 from 367 screens in Germany, but a mere $47,021 from 25 screens in Sweden. All told, a $3 million weekend propelled Snakes' total to $14 million.